Two air traffic controllers at LaGuardia Airport are facing termination for leaving work early on the night of March 22, when an Air Canada regional jet collided with a fire truck on a runway, killing two people, according to reports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is initiating proceedings to fire the controllers, who reportedly left their posts about an hour before their shifts were scheduled to end.
This early departure, a practice known as an "early shove" in the industry, left only two controllers to manage what was then more than twice the usual volume of air traffic, the Wall Street Journal reported. The FAA considers such early departures a form of timecard fraud, with agency officials arguing that controllers may still be needed during potential emergencies, even if they are on break. The agency has indicated a more aggressive stance on timecard fraud and abuse of leave policies, having previously terminated more than 10 controllers.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that while the vast majority of air traffic controllers are dedicated professionals, the agency will not tolerate fraud or abuse by a small percentage that unfairly burdens colleagues and impacts airspace operations.
The collision on March 22 involved an Air Canada regional jet and a Port Authority fire truck crossing the runway. The fiery crash resulted in the deaths of the two pilots aboard the aircraft and injuries to 39 other passengers. The two firefighters in the truck also sustained injuries but survived and have been placed on leave.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is currently investigating the cause of the crash and assessing the role that tower staffing may have played. A preliminary NTSB report indicated that a firefighter on the truck heard an air traffic controller issue a warning to "stop, stop, stop," but could not identify the source of the warning. The report also noted that a crash-prevention system did not generate an alert in the control tower, and runway entrance lights, intended to act as stop signals for crossing vehicles, remained illuminated for approximately three seconds before the collision occurred. The system is designed to switch off these lights two to three seconds before an aircraft reaches an intersection.
Additionally, the fire truck lacked a transponder, a device that would have allowed LaGuardia's automatic warning system to track its path and correlate it with the descending Air Canada Express flight. In response to the incident, the Port Authority has announced that emergency vehicles at LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark airports will be equipped with new tracking devices.